Repayment
by kjt1
Summary: An incident at a lake leaves Greg scared and Grissom and Sara out for revenge… and wet. GSR. Complete.
1. Part 1

**Title**: Repayment   
**Rating:** PG-13   
**Disclaimer: **No, I still have nothing whatsoever to do with CSI – what do you mean they're glad about that??!!   
**Spoilers:** None that I know of   
**Summary:** An incident at a lake leaves Greg scared and Grissom and Sara out for revenge… and wet.   
**Thanks:** A HUGE thank you to Sharon for allowing me to borrow her evil mind ;)   
**Notes:** This is a total fluff piece and I have no idea where it came from.

**Part 1 of 3**

---

"Greg!" shrieked Sara as her body made contact with the cold water of Lake Mead. The younger man's eyes grew wide with fear and he cautiously backed away. He didn't get far before another voice bellowed at him.

"Sanders! What the hell were you doing?" Gil Grissom stood up in the water, droplets trickling down his face, his clothes completely soaked.

"Crap. I'm sorry," apologized Greg immediately. "I just… I didn't mean it."

The whole incident was like something out of a comedy. Greg had been over-excited ever since they arrived at the scene, as Sara was giving him a lot of responsibility in regard to evidence collection. In his haste, he hadn't noticed Grissom and Sara standing at the edge of the lake, trying to figure out if any of the ground had been disturbed – luckily for him, they had just established that it hadn't been. Greg needed to retrieve something from his kit and whirled around in his usual manner, at such speed that, when he collided with Grissom, the momentum caused the nightshift supervisor to lose his footing and stumble into Sara. In turn, she lost her footing and fell into the lake, grabbing onto Grissom's arm with such force that he followed her into the wet abyss.

Greg was so scared he didn't even have to suppress a chuckle at the sight of his supervisor who epitomized the phrase 'drowned rat' at that moment in time. He started backing away again and then, when Grissom turned to check on Sara, he broke into a run and headed to the safety of the officers posted at the crime scene.

"That boy is going to be the death of me!" grumbled Grissom as he ran a hand through his wet hair, trying to keep drips out of his eyes. "You okay?"

Sara was still submerged in the water, only her head above the surface. Her teeth were chattering, showing how cold the water was, but she wasn't making any attempt to move.

"You going to stay in here all night?" teased Grissom, looking at her curiously. A blush crept up her cheeks and his expression turned to that of confusion. "Sara? Are you okay?" She nodded. "Well, come on, let's go."

"Uh, I…" she stammered, partly because she was too cold to speak clearly and partly because of embarrassment.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember what I was wearing tonight, Grissom?" she finally managed to say. He didn't reply, just looked at her like she'd grown two heads and shrugged. "Here's a hint." Sara moved slightly so that her shoulders were now visible above the water and Grissom's eyes mimicked Greg's earlier alarmed expression. Sara was wearing a white t-shirt. She was mentally kicking herself. She very rarely wore anything other than dark colors to work, but she hadn't had time to do laundry lately and had grabbed one of the only clean items in her dresser that evening.

"Oh, uh… Hang on." Grissom started to unzip his jacket, but then shook his head, realizing it would not be the easiest thing to remove when it was waterlogged. "Where's your vest?" he asked her, suddenly remembering she hadn't been wearing it when she arrived at the scene. Neither had he, so he couldn't exactly reprimand her about it, but she also hadn't been wearing a jacket.

"In the car," she replied. "And before you ask, no, I don't have a jacket with me, I left it in my locker." The night air had actually been fairly warm when she left for the scene, though it was now an hour later and the temperature had dropped considerably.

Nodding, he turned away from her and looked back out at the shore. He considered leaving the lake but, for some reason, he didn't want to leave Sara alone. "Greg!" he yelled, startling Sara and making her mutter a curse about her ears.

Greg slowly walked back to them, puzzled that they hadn't gotten out of the water. As Grissom yelled again, he increased his pace and came to a stop at the water's edge.

"Go to the car and get Sara's equipment vest," ordered Grissom. He then thought to check who had the keys and Sara held them above the water. Taking them from her, he passed them to Greg and told him to be quick. Greg ran to the SUV, retrieved the vest and was back in record time.

Grissom took the vest from Greg and passed it back to Sara. Taking it gratefully, she slipped it on under the water and fastened it to preserve her modesty. Grissom told Greg return to his task of packing up evidence and waited until he had left before turning to Sara.

"You ready?" She nodded and he walked out of the water with her right behind him. Sara was rather surprised that he had stayed in the water for so long, but she was glad he had. As soon as they were both on dry land, Grissom turned around to make sure she was okay. "Do you have a change of clothes at the lab?"

Sara started to nod her head and then stopped. "Actually, my stuff is in my bag in the car, I forgot to put it in my locker earlier. I had to change during shift yesterday and was gonna replace everything today," she babbled.

Something seemed to spark in Grissom's mind, if the look in his eyes was anything to go by, and he nodded before saying, "Get your bag and then get into my Denali." He passed her the keys, ignoring her confused look and made a shooing motion. Wordlessly, Sara followed his instructions, wondering why she wasn't going to be driving back to the lab with Greg.

Sara was further surprised when she saw Grissom and Greg load all the evidence into the back of her SUV, as Grissom would normally take the majority of it back to the lab himself. Grissom soon walked over to the Denali, with Greg close behind, and got into the driver's seat. Greg tapped on Sara's window and she lowered it so she could talk to him.

"Sara, I'm _really_ sorry. I didn't mean it, I just –"

"It's okay, Greg," she interrupted with a smile. "If I thought for even a second that you planned this, you wouldn't be breathing right now."

The look of panic on Greg's face brought a smile to Grissom's lips as he watched the exchange.

"Greg, take the evidence back to the lab and get started processing. If there's anything you're not sure of how to handle, either ask someone for help, or wait until we get back. Understand?" said Grissom. The younger man nodded.

"Wait, what do you mean 'wait until you get back'? You're not heading back now?" asked Greg worriedly.

Grissom looked down at his wet clothes and then regarded Greg sternly. "Believe me, Greg, you don't want to be around me right now." With that, he pressed the button to raise Sara's window and then drove away.

"Where _are_ we going?" asked Sara as she looked in the mirror and saw Greg staring after them.

"I don't know about you, but I have to change."

"Yes, but –" The rest of Sara's comment died on her lips as Grissom turned on the stereo, increasing the volume and indicating he wasn't in the mood for talking.

---

"You're not coming?" asked Grissom as he started to get out of the SUV. Sara looked at him, wrinkling her brow in confusion. She recognized where they were, but it was the last place she expected.

"We're at your house," she stated bluntly.

"100 on observation," he said dryly. "Get your bag." He closed the door behind him and walked towards his front door, fully expecting Sara to follow. When he didn't hear any movement, he turned around and stared at her until she finally exited the vehicle.

"What are we doing here?"

"I'm in the same situation as you," he explained. "I used up my spare set of clothes at the lab yesterday, but I forgot to take a new set today."

"Okay," said Sara slowly, "but why am _I_ here? Why couldn't I go back to the lab with Greg?"

Opening the door, he ushered Sara inside, only answering her question when the door was closed behind them. "It's a long drive back from the lake to the lab, this place is closer." Sara still looked dubious. "I'm trying to stop you catching pneumonia; do you have any idea the paperwork I'd have to fill out if that happened?"

The smirk adorning his face proved that he was teasing her, but that just made her wonder even more why she was there.

"Seriously, Grissom, I could have just gone back to the lab."

"And you wouldn't have felt the need to make sure Greg delivered all the evidence to the correct place first? Or felt you had to show him how to process certain items?" His raised eyebrows, daring her to challenge his words and she lowered her gaze in defeat. "The main bathroom is this way," he said, walking towards the back of his house and opening a door for her. She stepped past him and he closed the door, leaving her inside the bathroom and him outside.

Sara opened her bag and carefully removed her spare set of clothes, but quickly let out a curse and started rummaging. A minute later, she opened the bathroom door again and walked back into the living room. Grissom was still there, getting a drink of water from the kitchen.

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, no," she replied unconvincingly. "I just… I forgot to pack something, that's all."

"Anything I can do?"

She flushed with embarrassment, but still managed to keep enough composure to embarrass him as well. "Not unless you have some women's underwear around here somewhere."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so…" she trailed off. She was trying to decide whether she was up to going 'commando' for the rest of the shift, especially when Grissom would now know that's what she was doing. She also figured it wouldn't be long until Greg realized it as well, in relation to the upper half of her body at least, as her spare t-shirt was also white.

"You can put your stuff in the dryer," said Grissom, pointing to a closet. "Hang on for a minute." He walked away and returned a few minutes later with a robe in his hand. "You can use this. Just put your stuff in the dryer while you shower. I'll be in my room." As soon as Sara took the robe from him, he disappeared again and she walked back into the bathroom to change.

After stripping off her clothes and dressing in the robe, Sara carefully opened the bathroom door and checked for any signs of Grissom before crossing to the closet containing the dryer. Tossing in her underwear, she set the machine to dry for ten minutes and then went to take her shower, smiling when she found that Grissom had placed unopened bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel on the toilet seat, obviously retrieved from his own bathroom. The shampoo and conditioner were surprisingly the make she used at home and she smiled a little at how similar their tastes were.

Dressed in the robe again, Sara crept out of the bathroom after her shower and checked on the status of her underwear. The machine was finished the drying cycle, but the stuff wasn't yet dry. She set it for another ten minutes and walked back into the bathroom with the intention of toweling dry her hair while she waited.

---

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom once more, still wearing the robe. This time her underwear was dry and she had just grabbed the garments and closed the closet door when she heard a noise behind her. Whirling around, she found Grissom standing in front of her, his eyes drawn to the scraps of material she was holding in her hands. Embarrassed, she quickly put her hands behind her back and then stared back at him, unsure of what to do next.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were out here," said Grissom quietly. "I thought you would have been finished by now."

"Your dryer took longer than expected," she explained. "I, uh… I'll go get dressed."

As she walked past him, Grissom turned around and called to her. She stopped and looked back. "Are you hungry?" he asked. She shrugged. "I didn't take anything to the lab, so I'm going to make myself a sandwich. Do you want one?"

"Uh, sure," she replied, shrugging again. "Just no –"

"Meat," he finished. "I know."

Sara entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, her mind trying to figure out what was happening. Never in a million years would she have expected to be offered the use of a shower in Grissom's home, and the use of his robe would never have entered her imagination, except maybe in her fantasies.

In the kitchen, Grissom was reveling in the fact his own fantasies come partially true by seeing Sara wearing his robe and he busied himself making food to try and get himself under control. He didn't know why he had brought her to his home; it was as though some sort of natural instinct had taken over him, controlling his actions. He actually felt more comfortable about the whole thing than he thought he would and surmised that being in his own home contributed to that. But still, he wasn't the sort of person who shared easily and having Sara in his home made him a little wary. Seeing her clothed in only his robe increased that wariness.

It was only a few minutes later when Sara returned, fully dressed and carrying her bag in one hand and Grissom's robe in the other. "Thanks," she said as she held out the robe.

"Just toss it on my bed," he instructed, continuing to slice tomatoes. Sara looked at him curiously, having expected him to want to wash the robe after she'd worn it, but she did as he asked, passing the bathroom and noticing a door ajar, behind which lay his bedroom. She found herself nervous when stepping inside, but shook herself and threw the robe on the bed before quickly retreating.

Stepping back into the living room, she found Grissom pouring them some juice at the breakfast bar. He held out a glass and a plate of sandwiches for her, which she quickly took. After looking around for somewhere to sit, she eventually followed Grissom to the couch.

They had just started eating when Grissom's cellphone rang. He stood up and retrieved it from his jacket, holding it to his ear as he answered.

"Grissom…"

"Catherine…"

Sara smiled a little when Grissom rolled his eyes at whatever Catherine was saying. He motioned to her to keep eating and she slowly took another bite of her sandwich, washing it down with some juice.

"Just help him out if you can," said Grissom into the phone, emitting a sigh as he spoke. "What? Didn't Greg tell you? We had an _incident_ at the scene and had to go home to change…"

Sara dipped her head and smiled when she realized he hadn't said that both he and Sara were changing at his house.

"I'll be back before the end of shift. Bye." He hung up the phone and retook his seat beside Sara.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Greg has been wandering around the lab looking pitiful apparently," he replied, taking a sip of juice. "Catherine was wondering where we were."

"Greg didn't tell her what happened?"

"No, though I'm sure Catherine will now ask."

"Huh. He must be afraid everyone will help us plot revenge against him," she grinned.

"We have the two best minds in the lab, why would we need help?" he asked, genuinely interested in her reason.

Smiling at the inadvertent compliment, she replied, "We usually use our minds for good instead of evil."

"Consider it as an experiment."

"So, we are going to exact revenge then?" she queried in surprise.

"One way or another, yes. For one thing, Greg needs to learn to take more care at crime scenes; what if there had been evidence at the shoreline?"

"I think he's learned that lesson now," she smiled. "But, I'm up for a little revenge if you are."

They lapsed into silence as they finished their food. Once they had both finished, Grissom stacked Sara's plate onto his own and took them and their glasses into the kitchen. Sara stood up, thinking they were about to leave, but then noticed him start the coffee maker and sat back down.

"What kind of revenge are you thinking about for Greg?" she asked, standing up again and moving to the breakfast bar, facing Grissom who was getting mugs ready.

"He hasn't been to a decomp yet, right?" he smirked in reply.

"That's it?" There was a tone of mild incredulity mixed with disappointment in her voice.

"Not enough?" he queried, wondering what she had in mind.

"Well, you're the one who said we had the two best minds in the lab. If all we can come up with is putting him on a case that'll make him smell, but one which he'll probably learn a lot on, I think we should be glad we're not criminals. Besides, it could be a while before there's another decomp on our shift."

Grissom nodded his agreement to her words and proceeded to pour their coffee, making it just the way Sara liked it, much to her delight. Taking his mug, he walked back over to the couch and Sara followed, sitting down beside him.

"Wow, it's pretty late," she noted, looking at the time on Grissom's VCR. "Nearly end of shift."

"Yeah. I can drop you at home if you want, you can get your car next shift."

"No, it's okay," she replied, shaking her head but smiling at his offer, "I want to check on Greg's progress anyway."

Even though time was passing them by, neither were in any hurry to finish their coffee. Grissom planned to be in the lab for most of the day anyway and he knew Sara would do the same, even though she did not need to be there.

Finally draining her coffee mug, Sara gave a little cough as the coffee went down the wrong way. Grissom immediately asked if she was okay and, once assured she was, he brought a hand up to his chain and appeared to be deep in contemplation. He had finished his own coffee and it was Sara reaching for his mug to take it into the kitchen with hers that broke him from his reverie.

"I think I've thought of a revenge plan," he announced, standing up and moving to the kitchen to take the mugs from her and put them into the dishwasher.

"You didn't need my mind after all then," said Sara, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"No, but I need you," he commented, "and you gave me the idea. Come on, I'll tell you on the way."

---

TBC…


	2. Part 2

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

**Part 2 of 3**

---

Grissom checked in with Greg as soon as they returned, while Sara headed for the break room and steeled herself for a round of teasing from everyone about her impromptu dip in the lake. After updating himself on the progress of all the nightshift cases, Grissom returned to his office and completed some paperwork, but was disturbed just before the end of shift by Sara's arrival. Taking one look at her appearance, he left the office.

"Greg, I need you to do something for me," said Grissom as he entered the Layout Room and found him poring over some evidence from their crime scene.

"What do you need?" asked Greg immediately.

"I need you to go back to the lake."

"Did we miss something?"

"No, we caught something, or at least I think Sara did." Greg stopped what he was doing and gave Grissom his full attention. His supervisor was leaning against the table, looking at Greg intently, his expression grave. When Greg didn't say anything, Grissom continued, "I think there might have been something in the lake that's affected her."

"She's sick?" queried Greg, his face going pale. He was unable to meet Grissom's gaze.

"Yes, I think so," confirmed Grissom.

"And you think it's from the lake?" Greg's voice was very squeaky.

"It's a logical conclusion to draw, but I need evidence to be sure. So, I need you to go to the lake and get some samples of the water. She might have been bitten by something, but she says she doesn't have any obvious marks, so it may be something in the water; she swallowed a bit when she hit the water."

"But, you're not sick," pointed out Greg.

"I didn't swallow any water. Can you go to the lake? I need to make sure Sara is okay and start filling out the accident report."

"Uh, sure. What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Come by my office and I'll give you some containers. Fill them with water. You'll need to go out as far as Sara was in the water. Do you remember?" Greg nodded. "Good. Get samples from there and a few other places. I need you to do that and get back here as quickly as possible so we can run the samples. Oh, and Greg? You have to keep this quiet. You know how much of a tourist haven the lake is, we can't let anyone know about this until we're sure, don't want to cause a panic."

"Okay," said Greg, but there was hesitation in his voice.

"I mean it, Greg, I need this done fast."

"Okay. Where do I get a wetsuit?"

"You don't have time for that, Greg, you'd need to fill in the paperwork to take one out. Oh, you'll be off the clock for this as well. I can't authorize overtime for something like this."

"That's okay, I just want to help," said Greg emphatically.

"Good. Get your jacket and come by my office for the containers."

---

Greg knocked on the closed door to Grissom's office warily, entering only when he heard the call from within. The sight that greeted him compounded his earlier guilt and he couldn't remove his eyes from Sara. She was sitting in a seat, coughing, her body heaving with the strain. Her eyes met Greg's for a moment before she coughed again and collapsed back against the chair.

"Sara?" croaked Greg nervously.

"Hey, Greg," she smiled, before giving into another coughing fit.

"I'm really sorry."

"Here," said Grissom, thrusting a bag of empty sample containers into Greg's hands. "You remember where you need to take the samples from?" Greg nodded. "Be back as soon as you can, Greg."

"I will be, I swear." Turning his eyes to Sara he added, "I won't even take time to change, Sara. I'll be back before you know it. We'll find out what's made you sick."

"Thanks, Greg," she said weakly.

"Call me when you're on your way back, Greg, I'll get the equipment set up," instructed Grissom before returning to his desk and picking up his phone.

"Jim, it's Gil. I need you to do me a favor…"

Taking his cue, Greg hurriedly left the office.

---

Greg had entered the lake wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket, having taken the time to quickly remove his shoes and socks. He had swum out to the point he remembered Sara being at and took some samples from there, then swam a little farther to get another sample, just to be on the safe side. Another couple were taken nearer the shore line before he left the water and he was thankful Grissom had given him a waterproof pen to use on the containers so he could label each sample as it was collected.

As he emerged from the lake, he was startled by the sight of one of the officers posted at the scene taking photos of him.

"Too good an opportunity to resist," shrugged the officer with a wry grin. "Makes me glad we have to bring cameras to scenes now."

It was a very wet and cold Greg Sanders who got back into his car to drive back to the CSI lab, though he had benefited a little from the temperature that was starting to rise by that time of the morning. However, he hadn't wasted any time, so could not take advantage of it to help dry his clothes.

---

Greg had called Grissom as he left the lake, giving him an ETA on his arrival back at the lab. He was told to report directly to Grissom's office and was currently standing outside the darkened room, his hand raised to hesitantly knock on the door.

Instead of being called to enter, the door was opened from within and Grissom looked out at him.

"You got the samples?"

"Yes. How's Sara?" asked Greg. Grissom opened the door wider and stood back to allow him entrance before closing the door again.

Sara was lying across two seats, her torso on one and her feet on the other, hands clasped on her lap. She turned her head slightly at Greg's approach, but didn't raise a smile, instead letting her eyes drift closed again. Only a desk lamp lit the room and he couldn't make out her face very easily, though he could see it was paler than usual.

Grissom walked past Greg and knelt down beside Sara, placing his hands over hers to get her to open her eyes.

"Sara, Greg is back. He has the samples," said Grissom gently, watching as her eyes fluttered open. She nodded her head and turned her head in Greg's direction.

"Hey, Sara," he said quietly, holding up the bag containing the samples. "How are you feeling?"

Grissom had stood up again and was perched on the edge of his desk, his eyes flicking between Sara and Greg.

When Sara didn't say anything, Greg started to panic. "Sara, I swear, we'll figure out what this is. I'm sure you can get some medication for it, there's medication for most things these days, you know that. I'll get started on these samples right away. Well, you know, I'll give them to someone who knows what to do with them; I doubt we're looking for DNA," he babbled, trying to bring a little humor to the situation but only earning himself a glare from Grissom.

"Greg, you're all wet," said Sara suddenly, as though she'd just noticed him dripping on the floor.

"Uh, yeah. I didn't wanna waste time changing," he replied, reminding her of his earlier promise.

"Come here," she beckoned. Greg looked from Sara to Grissom and then moved closer, crouching down beside her. "Now you know how it feels!" she yelled, though she was almost doubled up with laughter. Pressing one hand down on his shoulder, she stood up, while using her other hand to swat the back of his head.

"Ow!" squealed Greg, standing up and looking at Sara in confusion. When he saw her grinning at Grissom, the light began to dawn and Greg looked at Sara accusingly. "You set me up." His tone was wounded and Sara actually felt a little guilt creeping over her, but it was quickly removed when Grissom responded to Greg's allegation.

"Actually, it was my idea," he said, almost proudly.

Greg gave him a hurt look before turning his attention back to Sara, who was now standing beside Grissom's desk and avoiding Greg's gaze.

"You're really not sick?" asked Greg softly. Sara finally met his eyes and shook her head, smiling at him but biting her lip; she was beginning to regret playing such a trick on him, never having thought he would have been so worried about her.

"No, I'm not," she confirmed. "Sorry, Greg, we just couldn't resist."

"Maybe now you'll know not to move around so quickly at crime scenes," interjected Grissom. "They're not play areas, Greg, you have to take your time, notice everything and ensure nothing can be compromised."

"I know," said the younger man solemnly. "It really was an accident, I wasn't messing around."

"We know, Greg," assured Sara, sensing how upset he was becoming. "We just needed to let off a little steam after nearly getting our asses frozen off. Think of this as a good thing, you now have evidence that Grissom and I _do_ know how to have fun after all; I'm sure Nick has some sort of bet running on that."

"You think I'm gonna actually _tell_ people about this?" he grumbled.

"You won't have to, Brass will be bringing the evidence in later," grinned Grissom, then added, "I had him get the officers at the scene to take photos. Of course, I'm sure a number of people also noticed you walking to my office while you were dripping wet, they're all going to want an explanation."

"Man, when you guys decide to have a little fun, you go all out, don't you?" whined Greg.

"We're scientists, Greg, we test things to their limits," teased Sara with a smile. "Just be thankful we don't experiment like this very often."

"What do you want me to do with these?" he asked, holding the bag of samples aloft.

"Pour them down the sink," replied Grissom. "Then get yourself home and get some sleep." Greg nodded and started to walk out of the office, his head dipped and embarrassment oozing from his posture. "Oh, Greg?" called Grissom. As Greg turned around, Grissom smiled and said, "You might want to take a shower and change your clothes first."

Sara laughed at Grissom's comment, but stopped when Greg gave her a 'puppy dog' look. He left the office and Grissom turned to Sara, giving her a wink before he stood up from his position on his desk and returned to his chair.

"I'm glad you choose to use your mind for good instead of evil, Grissom," Sara told him as she took a few steps towards the door. "And I'm definitely glad the evil part is rarely used against me."

Before Grissom could query the 'rarely' part of her statement, she was gone from his office.

---

TBC… 

Thank you for the reviews, they are really appreciated :-)


	3. Part 3

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

Part 3 of 3

---

The start of the next shift rolled around all too quickly for certain members of the nightshift. Greg almost stumbled into the break room and started making a pot of his favorite brand of coffee. He had managed to sleep after getting home, but was still reeling from the fact that he had been tricked, by Grissom and Sara no less. Playing the events through his mind over and over left him tired and he was glad of the energy boost as he took a sip of the delicious caffeine in his mug.

"Greggo, any of that for me?" asked Nick as he wandered into the room and smelled 'the good stuff'. Greg considered saying no, but then decided he wanted to have Nick on side to try and stave off the teasing he knew was sure to come when Sara appeared.

Warrick and Catherine also managed to cajole Greg into parting with coffee, but the next two to enter the room didn't even dare to try their luck.

"Well, if it isn't the two wet wonders," grinned Nick, unconsciously leaning further back in his chair as Sara's glare connected with his eyes. Holding his hands up in defense, he nodded to Catherine. "Hey, I'm not the one who spread the news."

Catherine glared at Nick as she became the recipient of twin glares from Sara and Grissom. All glares were quickly forgotten though as Grissom passed around some photos.

"There's only one wet wonder, though I'm sure I can think of a few words other than _wonder_ to describe him," said Grissom.

All except Greg looked at the photos and burst out laughing. He turned his gaze to Sara and tried to use his puppy dog look again, but she just laughed it away.

"Greg, care to explain?" asked Grissom, a smirk playing on his lips. Greg shook his head and moved back to the safety of the coffee pot, refilling his mug and taking his time returning to the table.

Sara quickly filled in her curious co-workers on the events of the day and didn't know whether to be pleased or hurt when they all gasped in disbelief.

"You and _Grissom_? You guys tricked _Greg_?" questioned Nick in astonishment.

"You think we don't have the capability, Nick?" asked Grissom, putting the younger man on the spot and looking at him over the rim of his glasses.

"Uh, can we get back to teasing Greg?"

They all laughed at Nick's discomfort, but Grissom soon brought them all under control by handing out assignments. Nick, Warrick and Catherine all had crime scenes to attend, while he, Sara and Greg would be working in the lab, processing the evidence from the lake.

As they all filed out of the room, Sara called Greg back.

"Do you want to take break together tonight, Greg?" she asked.

"Why? So you can subject me to more teasing?"

"No. Listen, I'm sorry if we went too far with the trick, we didn't mean to. Like I said earlier, we were just letting off a little steam. Come on, I might even let you share my vegetarian piece of heaven," she winked. Greg's eyes went wide and then he looked at her with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Food, Greg, I was talking about food!" she told him, raising a hand and shaking her head.

---

"So, what vegetarian piece of heaven to I get to share?" asked Greg as he joined Sara in the break room to eat together.

"You don't need to share, you can have it all," she said, pushing her unopened container towards him. He looked at her curiously. "I'm not hungry, I think I'm sick."

"I'm not gonna fall for that one again," he smiled.

"What? Oh, no, Greg, I'm serious. I think I'm coming down with something."

"Uh huh," said Greg, shaking his head and obviously not believing her. He pulled open the lid of the container she had passed to him and then recoiled in disgust. "Woah, if you eat stuff like that, it's no wonder you feel sick."

Grissom chose that moment to enter the room and he looked at both occupants curiously when neither of them spoke.

"Everything okay?" he asked, looking at Sara and Greg in turn. Greg met his gaze but then looked at Sara, almost challengingly. "Sara?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she replied. Greg emitted a small chuckle and gave her a look that said he thought he'd beaten her at her own game, but he stopped when Sara coughed.

"Are you okay?" asked Grissom immediately.

"Oh, come on, guys, I'm not gonna fall for that," laughed Greg, but Grissom silenced him with a glare.

As Grissom walked over to Sara, Greg rolled his eyes and proclaimed that he wasn't going to become a victim of their duplicity again. He was soon hushed by Grissom, who was now leaning on the table, staring at Sara intently.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Grissom, I'm fine," she insisted, but her body betrayed her by sneezing. Grissom recoiled as the outpourings from her nose hit the top of his chest. Sara started apologizing profusely, but he held up a hand to stop her talking.

"You have a cold," he stated bluntly before turning to the other person in the room. "Greg, pass me the blanket that's on the back of the couch."

"You've got to be kidding," whined Greg. "I already told you I'm not gonna fall for this again."

"Greg!"

"Okay, okay, I'm getting it," said Greg, hurriedly retrieving the blanket and passing it to him. Grissom wrapped it around Sara's shoulders and then placed a finger under her chin to tilt her head up.

"I'm fine," she protested, but Grissom ignored her. "I don't have a cold."

"Sara, you never sneeze, you like to remind people that you don't suffer from any allergies."

"I don't have a cold," she repeated.

"Wait, you really _are_ sick," said Greg, finally realizing that it wasn't an act.

"No!"

"Sara –" started Grissom, but she cut him off.

"I'm fine," she insisted, pushing away from the table and standing up, dropping the blanket from her shoulders.

"Sara, it's okay to get sick," said Greg.

"No, it's not," she muttered and Greg looked to Grissom for an explanation.

"No field work, Sara, and you need to wear a mask while working with any evidence," ordered Grissom.

"I'm fine!" she yelled, but then sneezed again and dropped back down into her seat.

Greg decided he didn't want to be a part of the argument that was about to ensue and he quickly retreated to the sanctuary of the DNA lab.

"Sara –"

"Grissom, I said I'm fine, I just got dust in my face or something."

"You're happy to work without a mask then? You definitely won't be risking compromising evidence if you do that?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

She knew he had her on that one, she would never risk contaminating evidence. It was the main reason she hated getting sick, as it severely interrupted her work. Where most people could continue as normal when they just had a mild cold, CSIs had to take extra precautions.

"Fine, I'll wear a mask," she grudgingly agreed.

"Go home," said Grissom suddenly. Sara looked at him like he was crazy. "If you go home now, you might prevent your cold getting worse," he said logically.

"Greg is gonna be doing all my grunt work for a month," she vowed, still not moving from her seat. Grissom furrowed his brow at her comment. "If I have a cold, it's because I was pushed into a lake last night," she explained.

Grissom walked behind her chair and picked up the discarded blanket. After draping it around her shoulders again, he started to leave the room, but turned back at the last moment. "You should go home. I'll be here to help Greg process the evidence."

"I'm fine," she protested.

"I'm not going to force you," he said, looking at her seriously. "But, you should consider it."

"I'll let you know."

"If I can't find you, I'll know you've gone," he told her as he left.

---

Sara had been forced to give in and take Grissom's advice about two hours before the end of shift, as her sneezing got worse and she couldn't handle evidence due to her shivering causing her hands to shake. She managed to drive herself home and took a long, hot shower to let the steam permeate her head. Grabbing a bottle of water, she then collapsed onto the couch and tried to sleep, but she tossed and turned for about an hour, her cough waking her every time she started to doze.

When the clock showed the time she would usually have returned from shift, Sara gave up all hope of a restful sleep and padded to the kitchen, pulling a blanket around herself. She had dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt after her shower, but was still shivery. As a last attempt to prevent the cold getting worse, she filled a bowl with boiling water, carried it to the coffee table, put a towel over her head and the bowl and leaned forward to inhale the steam.

The steam caused her to cough a little, but she knew it was necessary to clear her head and nose. Her hair was beginning to stick to her forehead and she felt dreadful, knowing she probably looked even worse than she felt. Her theory was unfortunately to be tested when she heard a knock at the door.

With a sigh, she pushed away from the coffee table, stood up and walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, she let out a gasp and hurriedly tried to make herself look more presentable. When he knocked again, she abandoned her clean up effort and opened the door.

"Hey," she greeted, closing her eyes when she heard her croaky her voice sounded.

"I was going to say that you must be _really_ sick to have actually left work early, but I can see there's no need. You look dreadful."

"Gee, thanks for that, Grissom. Way to cheer me up," she said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry," he said genuinely as he stepped past her into the apartment. She closed the door and walked to the couch, dropping down unceremoniously. Grissom sat down in a chair and looked at her seriously. "Greg asked me to apologize to you again, especially about not believing you were really sick this time."

She smiled weakly before coughing. "I don't blame him for not believing me, not after the prank."

"Well, if it's any consolation, he's made a donation to help you get well."

"What kind of donation?" she asked warily.

Grissom reached into his pocket and triumphantly produced a small bag. "This is his coffee bean stash," he grinned. Sara chuckled a little at Grissom's expression, but then shook her head.

"Um, that's nice of him –"

"I don't think he'd agree," interrupted Grissom, adding, "He didn't exactly donate it willingly."

Laughing, Sara continued, "But I don't drink coffee when I'm sick, it just keeps me awake and I really don't need that."

"It's not for you," he told her, earning a confused look. "It's for me, to keep me awake while I make sure you're looking after yourself."

"Huh?" she said ineloquently.

Instead of answering, Grissom stood up and retrieved the now cold bowl of water and towel from the coffee table, taking them into the kitchen. He then used Greg's coffee beans to start a pot of coffee and let it drip through while he returned to his chair.

"You having a cold is partly my fault," he finally said to a bemused Sara. "I was the one that fell against you and it was my weight that pushed you into the lake."

"Yeah, but I grabbed you and took you in with me," she pointed out.

"Very true, which is why it's likely I am going to end up with a cold at some point as well. I figure if I look after you now, you can then return the favor."

The playful lilt to his voice gave Sara more confidence than she had felt around him for a long time. "Oh, really?" she said with an arched eyebrow. Grissom just nodded his head and almost looked smug. "What makes you so sure you're going to get a cold anyway? You're not showing any symptoms so far and you were better dressed for the wet than I was."

"I would think that after hanging around you for a few hours today, I'm going to have a cold," he replied.

"You're going to be hanging around me for a few hours?" she queried.

"Yes," he answered simply, smiling at the look of frustration on her face.

"Why?"

"Because I want to. Now, you should be resting," he stated. Sara rolled her eyes, but noticed the serious look in his eyes and relented, lying down on the couch and pulling the blanket over herself. "Do you need anything?" asked Grissom quietly, to which she shook her head. A joint coughing and sneezing fit racked her body a moment later and she sat up, searching for her box of tissues. Grissom grabbed them from the coffee table and brought them to her, sitting on the edge of the table and holding a tissue for her to take.

"Thanks," she said after wiping her nose.

Grissom stood again to get himself a cup of coffee and thoughtfully brought Sara a bottle of water, which he placed on the coffee table. She acknowledged it with a nod, but was too tired to really move, so snuggled further down into the couch. Taking a sip of coffee, Grissom decided it was too hot and placed it on the table to cool. Looking over at Sara, he felt himself smile at the sight of her starting to doze. The temptation to move closer was irresistible and he slowly made his way towards her, coming to a halt just beside the couch. After hovering for a moment, he bent down with the intention of placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Sara chose that instant to feel the need for a drink of water and, without opening her eyes, she sat up slightly to reach for the bottle. The movement of her head meant that Grissom's lips didn't meet her forehead; instead, they met her lips.

Sara's eyes flew open at the contact and she looked directly into the startled gaze of Gil Grissom. She expected him to retreat immediately, which was why she didn't let her head fall back to the pillow on the arm of the couch. However, Grissom didn't move away, he did exactly the opposite, leaning a little closer and bending down further. Sara was further surprised when she felt his hips nudge against hers as he sat on the edge of the couch.

"Grissom," she started, but he placed a finger against her lips to cut her off.

"If you don't want this…," he said huskily. His eyes were darkened and Sara found herself mesmerized by them.

"I was just going to say I need a drink of water," she smiled. She waited for his reaction, fully expecting him to suddenly backpedal and get flustered. When he didn't, she feigned more confidence than she felt and said seductively, "So I can fully participate in this."

Grissom stretched over to the table and retrieved the bottle, unscrewing the cap and pressing the bottle to her lips. "Anything to help," he smirked.

After another round of kisses, each becoming more passionate, they finally broke apart for air. Grissom knew that Sara was tiring quickly, so he retreated to the chair to remove himself from temptation. She looked over at him, amusement dancing through her half-closed eyes.

"You're definitely going to have a cold now," she grinned.

"As long as you give me the same TLC I've just given you, and will give you more of, that's fine with me," he smiled.

---

The End

Thank you for all the reviews, they really mean a lot :-)


End file.
